NFL concussion: rule changes needed for Sunday's games says players' union

Tua Tagovailoa's injury has sparked a fresh debate on player safety in the NFL

The NFL Players Association has called on the league to make concussion rule changes before Sunday's round of games.

It wants to improve safety protocols after Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa was allowed to play on despite suffering a head injury against the Buffalo Bills on 25 September.

He then played against the Cincinnati Bengals four days later, when he left the field with a concussion.

The league has said changes are needed but not when they will be made.

Sunday's first game is between the Green Bay Packers and New York Giants in London.

"Our union has agreed to change the concussion protocols to protect players from returning to play in the case of any similar incident to what we saw on 25 September," the NFLPA said.

"We would like these changes to go into effect before this weekend's games to immediately protect the players and hope the NFL accepts the change before then as well."

In response, the NFL said: "We agree that changes to the joint NFL-NFLPA protocols are necessary to further enhance player safety.

"We have already spoken to members of the NFL Head, Neck and Spine Committee and the leadership of the Unaffiliated Neurotrauma Consultants and Independent Certified Athletic Trainers who serve as spotters to discuss these likely changes."

Tagovailoa will not feature against the New York Jets on Sunday and is seeing "several outside specialists" to determine his condition, Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel said.